The Letter
by Red Fiona
Summary: As everyone collects themselves after the events at the castle, there's a few things that need to be done, and people who need to be told about what happened. (Set after the end of the series, so it contains spoilers as well as mentions of canonical character deaths)


Author: Red Fiona Fandom: Robin Hood (BBC 2006)

Disclaimer: I don't own this iteration of the characters, the BBC does. No money is being made from this.

Characters: Tuck, Much and Little John

Rating/Warnings: PG rated gen fic set after the end of the show. Contains spoilers and mentions of canonical character death.

Summary: As everyone collects themselves after the events at the castle, there's a few things that need to be done, and people who need to be told about what happened.

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><p>Tuck was taking a short break from helping the villagers store their food for the winter when he saw Much and Little John walking towards him with purpose. They were arguing, a little, but it looked that they had decided on something and were bickering over the details.<p>

Since Robin died and the castle exploded, there hadn't been time to do much thinking. They had been too busy repairing the defences and storing food, because, while the Sheriff was gone, Prince John would return before long and he'd bring hunger and misery with him if they weren't careful. It wasn't like King Richard would come back any time soon, not if John was arranging the money for the Austrian ransom demand.

Archer stayed. He wasn't as good a man as Robin, but he was a far easier man for Tuck to steer in the right direction. Archer was also, like his brother, good with a bow, and with a quick word. He made the villagers feel safer, which was a good thing, especially as they were still scrabbling for a plan for what do next. Having big ideas was one thing, carrying them out was another matter entirely.

The pace of work had been furious, which set everyone on edge. Much had worried about the little things, the way he did, which had annoyed Archer. So Archer shouted at Much, who mostly squeaked back at him until Little John told Archer to leave it be. There was a lot of the father in John, and he seemed to have decided to protect Much.

It was funny, watching their progress. Every now and again, it seemed like Much was slowing down, almost turning away, and then they'd speak and he'd carry on.

They finally reached Tuck, right when he should probably have been going back to work, but given the effort he'd seen them expend, he wanted to find out what they wanted, if he turned them back, they might not be able to find the determination to come to him again.

"Tuck?"

"Yes."

"Could you, I mean, would you mind, if it's okay ..."

"We need a letter writing." John was obviously determined to get this thing done. "To Djaq and Will. We need to tell them."

"We wouldn't ask you, only Robin used to write our letters to them." Much's eyes seemed to focus on something that wasn't there, out in the middle distance. "I'm still not sure we ought to tell them. It's only going to upset them."

Much turned away. John grabbed him; hand around the top of his left arm, so gently. "Imagine if it were you that had left. You'd want to know." It took Much some time to nod. Tuck didn't know Robin's gang well, he'd not had a lot of chance to get to know the outlaws before everything got so frenzied that you couldn't tell if you were coming or going, but he knew that if God sent down a ladder, Much would be up it without a second's thought if it meant joining Robin. "And we have to tell them about Allan."

There was the briefest of pauses before both John and Much spoke at the same time.

"Djaq's going to be angry and Will will be upset."

"Will's going to be angry and Djaq will be upset."

John saw Tuck looking at them. "They're a very suited couple," John said.

Much started to worry his bottom lip again. "What do we tell them about Allan?"

What could they tell them? That there'd been a terrible mix-up, that they'd thought Allan had betrayed them again, that he'd died trying to warn them.

"We tell them the truth." John said it with the immense certainty that only he seemed to be able to carry off. "They'll understand."

There was another silence. Tuck never met Djaq or Will, and while he considered it foolish to have regrets over things that couldn't have happened, because of time and tide and his calling, he wished he had. Djaq seemed to be a very wise person indeed, and he'd probably have more in common with her despite their different religions than he had with any of the other outlaws. Will appeared to be exactly what this village, and many of the others surrounding it, needed, one of their own who understood why they needed to stand up for themselves. It was all well and good having the local land-owner standing up for them, but, even if he didn't doubt Robin's good intentions, all that was doing was changing the person in charge, it wasn't changing the system itself.

Take this for an example. With Robin gone, Tuck was the only person within four leagues that could read and write, if anything had happened to him, how would Much and Little John have got word to Djaq and Will? Yes, they could have gone to the abbey, but that was a day s journey there and back and when had they had time for *that* recently.

As soon as they had the chance, Tuck was setting up a church school in Locksley and setting that much right at least.

Tuck went to find a quill and some ink, and set it down on the nearest hard, flat surface, which was a rock of all things, no writing desks here in Locksley. He turned to Much and Little John who'd stayed where he d left them, to his slight surprise, as hunting for his supplies which hadn't been the quickest of tasks.

"How shall I begin?"


End file.
